Affirmative Action? For/Against?
I keep hearing about these white kids that can't get into Yale or Harvard because the let some in "Minority" in little Winthorp's place. Boo fuckin' hoo, I'm so sorry for your loss. It disgusts me that these people feel the need to console themselves in this security blanket called "Reverse Racism," it's pathetic. Why not blame the three or four hundred students that did better than you in both grades and SAT's? Oh yeah, because you assume they're all white, and it's always easier to pick on the group that has the weakest voice when it comes to making policy.
At Virginia Tech African Americans make up a whopping 6% of the incoming freshman population. Virginia is 20% African American, and I’m sure this isn't the only college whose student body doesn’t reflect the population of it’s surrounding area. Needless to say, the likelihood of you not getting into the university of your choice because a minority was given preference is slim at best. Still the band plays on with cries of liberty and justice for themselves, and how it is “unfair” for someone to get special treatment based “solely” on the color of their skin, despite that this has been the case for the past two hundreds years or so - The tables have just been turned a few degrees in the others favor.
I think the main reason for this is that few of us understand how the admissions process works. At least at VT (and I’m sure most colleges follow a similar model) you are graded on a point system, where being African American, Hispanic, or a few other minority groups, yields you twenty points. That’s twenty out of a possible one hundred and fifty total points, meaning there is still a one hundred and thirty point hurdle that they need to take on to be eligible for enrollment. Strangely you get more preferential treatment if you are the offspring of a graduate of that particular school, the term for this is “Legacy,” but where are the cries against students who are allowed enrollment because they’re Legacies? Oh yeah, because you assume they're all white, and likely have a ton of clout. No point in fighting an uphill battle, right? With only a twenty point head start I find it unlikely that most minorities didn’t, in some way, earn the right to attend the schools they got into.
In my opinion I feel that Affirmative Action is a necessary evil, in that it helps to elevate minorities who constantly have society working against them, to a higher level. In time the African American, Hispanic, and other such ethnic students will find themselves in a better position thanks to policies like Affirmative Action. And when it comes time for their children to attend a college they’ll have better role models, in their parents, for success. The theory is that over time these communities will rise higher with each generation, allowing them a fair shot at the “American Dream.” I would rather we live in a society where such policies need not be enforced by the government or better yet not necessary at all, however this is not an ideal society where we can all be judged by the content of our characters rather than the color of our skin. Though this may not be Rev. Kings dream, it’s the best thing we have going and, for some of us, our only chance.
